Sustainability is a word that has made huge in-roads into corporate America. It’s more than just a new business buzz word. From top-down changes to grass roots experimentations, change is in the air. This is a critical element to innovation as it keeps refreshing the perspective of corporations with large market share. The smart ones, like Steelcase and FLOR keep their ear to the ground looking for new products that appeal to the LOHSA community and their large purchasing power.

This new bike frame, from Brano Meeres Engineering, epitomizes the experiments of individuals testing and developing till a new product becomes commercially viable. Traditional bike frames have experimented with new materials over the years with the goal of decreasing the weight, increasing strength and influencing the frame’s flex. Now comes a frame that adds another goal- use a sustainable material.

Reading the designer/developer’s blog entries communicates the challenges and tests using a new material. Not only does this new material have an aesthetic appeal, but from a cradle-to-cradle perspective, it is right on target. FYI- the term of Cradle to Cradle is a phrase coined by Walter R. Stahel in the 1970s and popularized by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

I hope I’ll be able to find these in my local bike shop in the near future. View the originating site here.